Can You
by sweetmisgivings
Summary: Get past first impressions? Law's the school nurse assistant, and a feisty redhead jumps him on the bed. First impressions disappear, and it's going to take a lot to try and erase it. KidLaw
1. Rooms

**A/N: **Arghh! I feel that as I get older, my writing gets more stiff. It sucks. Horribly. Despite this, I do hope you enjoy this first chapter! It's connected to my other oneshot Just Days, but there's no need to read that one. Enjoy the KidLaw!

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Rooms**

* * *

"Corazon!"

His name was being called over and over again, but his eyes couldn't even open to respond. He gritted his teeth biting down the pain and he clamped his shoulder where the bullet had pushed through. The sounds of continuing gunfire drowned out in the background as he slid against a car and down to the concrete floor.

"Corazon, you okay?" His partner was panting as he crouched next to him.

He felt a hand gently peel away his own over his shoulder to assess the damage then roughly lead it back to readmit the pressure.

"You're fine, don't worry, you're fine."

"My… leg," he managed to groan out.

Coby shifted his eyes to where the blonde's other hand was gripping his pant leg. A deep red had seeped into the fabric highlighting a deep cut gashed across the length of Corazon's upper thigh.

"Shit!"

Without thinking, Coby took out a handkerchief he always carried around in his pocket and wrapped it around the leg to the stop the bleeding. He ignored the older man's whines and tightened the wrap with a knot.

"I called for back-up. Just stay here," he promised Corazon. "They'll be here soon."

He clasped the blonde on the shoulder looking him in the eyes before he got up and returned into the field of street fire. Corazon gritted his teeth feeling helpless. He should be out there with the other officers, not sitting here bleeding and useless! Coby was younger than him too! It wasn't right to be sending the man alone during this scuffle. Someone should be there with him!

Another shot of pain jolted up his leg as he tried to move, and he immediately sat back down.

"Agh…." He breathed stifling the scream he wanted to let out.

A soft thump sounded as he leaned his head back against the car. Fingers crinkling deep into the fabric of his pants, damp sweat trickled down Corazon's temple and moistened his upper lip. He was done. He couldn't go back out there anymore. Corazon closed his eyes to focus on his breathing, ears seeking out to listen to the screams of ammunition and threats from his fellow officers – Tashigi's in particular was the most discernable among the crowd of men.

For a few more minutes, he stayed slumped in his position when the crush of marble under footsteps made him look up. Corazon narrowed his eyes as he reached for his gun, his body tensing. He should've been a decent way off from the main concentration of conflict, or at least have been hidden from plain sight from where he was hiding, but one of the gang members might have strayed off on their own. The possibility of one of them finding him wasn't that unlikely.

Quietly, he turned off the safety with a soft click. He listened to the footsteps coming closer until they stopped. His hand tightened at his holster. As quickly as the footsteps had stopped, a loud bang sounding at the hood of the car he was leaning on made him lift his gun, but he was too slow. A barrel was already pointing at his head.

* * *

Clang!

The sound of objects being dropped woke him up. Law stirred against the bed, and his eyes opened to find that he wasn't the only one in the nurse's office. He sat up seeing a figure through the curtains which separated the beds, and they were savagely digging through the cabinets. Boxes and small packages fell to the floor ignored as the intruder stepped on them.

"Hey!" he yelled irritated as he drew the curtains aside.

The figure turned, and Law was able to see clearly now that it was another student. He was about to tell them off at how they were creating a mess when the other boy snapped his head at the door. Someone was coming, and the boy reacted quickly running towards the bed.

"What are you doing?!" Law screamed as he was tackled on the bed.

He struggled to get the other student off, but the boy pinned him down straddling him. The curtains were effectively closed to hide them, and Law tried even harder to kick.

"Get off of me!" he screamed. "You a- mhm!" His mouth was muffled with a heavy palm and both of his wrists were held above his head with another hand.

"Shut up," the other boy growled.

His red hair dipped down to Law's face making him unable to see the boy's face clearly. All he was able to get a glimpse of was his scowling lips which were cut and bleeding. Law continued to struggle only to receive a tighter grip around his wrists. The sound of the door opening made the hand over his mouth press harder to make him quiet, while the redhead stopped his breathing.

"…!"

The boy saw him attempting to scream for help, and a knee shoved at his gut. The air in his chest were forced out as a whimper, and Law could only watch as another smudgy figure enter the room and look around. His eyes followed them walking around searching for something, and he hoped that the person was perceptive enough to notice that some brute was harassing him behind the curtains. The figure stopped to analyze the mess of supplies on the floor, and Law drew his eyes to glare at the asshole who was the cause of it.

As he did so, he caught another injury marking the redhead's bicep. He wasn't wearing his school blazer so the white of his collared shirt was visibly dyed around the cut. Blood was still seeping out, and a good blotch dripped out when the muscle flexed.

Law heard the door slam, and he scanned the room again to see that whoever came in had left. The arms pinning him broke, and a hard body came falling down on top of him.

"Omf!"

The air in his lungs were squeezed out once again. Law squirmed at being trapped between a heavy body and the bed, and he elbowed the redhead on the face. The grip on his wrists loosened so he wasted no time taking advantage of it and he hastily crawled out of the bed. Partly stumbling as he met the floor, Law screamed.

"Who are you?!"

He reached for the redhead's collar, but stopped when he saw the boy moaning on the bed. Law blinked as he finally got a good look at him, and he was surprised to see how beat up the boy was. His clenched hand lowered knowing that the redhead was in no condition to fight him, but it didn't abate the want to punch the brute. If the boy came at him again, he'd pound the guy no hesitation.

Cautiously, he walked closer to the bed to examine the stranger. A soft moan came from the redhead's lips where the cut was still open. The browless forehead furrowed in pain with eyes closed, and Law noticed a light bruise forming at his left cheek where he had struck his elbow. _Serves him right._ He frowned when his eyes ran over the cut on his shoulder again.

As much as he didn't want to help the redhead, he was in charge of the nurse's office while she was away. Wherever Dr. Kureha was, he was the volunteer assistant that was responsible for handling the students. Judging from what just happened, the redhead was most likely being chased from a fight which got him his injuries.

Grudgingly, Law got himself to look for a disinfectant and bandages which were all on the floor. The redhead had probably been looking for them, but didn't know what they looked like and he bet that the boy didn't even know what he needed. He rolled his eyes cleaning up the mess and went back to the bed with all the basic things. He grabbed a chair to sit and placed all the equipment on top of a nearby desk.

"Take off your shirt," he ordered. He needed to see if there were any other open wounds anywhere.

The boy who was laying on the bed opened his eyes. The sudden flash of gold caught him off guard, but Law dismissed the feeling as he had never seen the color before. The metallic yellow molded into a reddish brown when the light from the window was blocked by a cloud, the shine somewhat disappearing. Too tired to respond, the boy merely did as he was told. With a grunt, he pushed himself to sit up and stripped of his shirt throwing it to the side of the bed. A finely muscled torso was revealed with spots of flowering blue bruises scattered everywhere. It wasn't anything too bad since they would heal according to time, but the sight of them still looked ghastly. The only true area of concern was the wound at his shoulder which started to drip blood down to his forearm.

"Hold still," he told him.

Law dipped a cotton with alcohol and began cleaning the gash. The redhead hissed earning a reprimand to not move and a hand on his shoulder to keep him steady. Law didn't blame him when the boy bit his lip as the cut was really deep, the blade from whatever knife had sunk into his flesh and gotten him good. He hurried to bandage the wound tightly, but the red liquid bled out into the cloth at a faster pace.

A sideways grin irked his lips as there weren't anything in a nurse's office that would stop the bleeding effectively.

"You need stitches for this."

The boy gave him a look. Deeming that Law had finished his job, he took his arm back and reached to put his shirt back on.

"Thanks, but I think I can handle a small cut without having to go through with all that crap."

Law shot his hand to stop the boy from dressing.

"All that crap?" he repeated blinkingly, the redhead having struck a nerve. "Do you know how important it is for that wound to get closed? Unless you want it infected and want to lose a quarter pint of blood, then you can continue being an idiot."

The redhead pulled his hand away, and returned the scowl. Law huffed.

"If you're going to indulge in idiotic fights, at least win."

"What was that?" the boy stopped what he was doing and flicked his eyes sharply.

"You wouldn't have come looking like that if you've won," he sneered. Honestly, he had no patience for rudeness and idiocy. The few minutes he had been with the redhead were nothing but troublesome and annoying. "You come here wounded and almost pass out on the bed; it looked like you were the one that got your ass kicked. The person that came here earlier was probably chasing after you when you fled to save yourself. If you really don't want to worry about stitches, then don't get yourself hurt in the first place or at least win your battles."

"Look here, _nurse_," the boy stood up. "You better bet that I kicked those idiots' ass that came after me. One of them had a knife and caught me off guard when I wasn't looking because there were six of them. Go look at the dumpsters at the back of the school, and you'll find the little bitch with the knife stuffed in one of them. And I only ran because the police came."

"Right," the look he got was unimpressed. "Maybe I should turn you in then."

Law walked away to get the sign in sheet, and the redhead called after him.

"Hey!" he yelled irritated that the dark haired teen didn't believe him. "It's true!"

"The matter isn't whether I believe you or not, I simply don't care. Here," Law threw the clipboard at him. "Sign this so I can fill out a form for why you came."

The redhead caught it in his hands and frowned. He looked down at the papers then back at Law again. Taking the pen attached to the clipboard, he muttered a curse and quickly scribbled his name.

"Here," he shoved it back to the raven's hands.

Just as Law was about to take it, the boy's eyes widened again. His golden red eyes dilated as they saw a figure coming by the door, and the redhead swiftly grabbed Law's wrists in a bruising hold. Law stumbled dropping the sign-in sheet as he was pulled into the bed, and the redhead reached to close the curtains again.

"What are you doing?!" he yelled.

"Someone's here!"

"I thought a minute ago, you were saying how you kicked people's asses!"

"Shut up!"

Law flinched when he was roughly thrown on the mattress and held under the redhead's body again.

"Stop trying to pin me down!" he pushed the boy's chest.

The redhead may have put his shirt back on, but he still hadn't done any of the buttons leaving his torso mostly bare. A pair of hands struggled to get Law's wrists bound above his head like they were before, but the dark haired teen wouldn't let himself be placed in the same position twice. As the boy bent forward to overpower him with his weight, Law wrapped his legs around the redhead's waist in hope to get a good grip in order to roll the both off them off the bed. If they could fall so Law could be on top, he would have the advantage.

The other boy kept telling him to be quiet, but their bickering struggle would have failed to hide them if the person at the door really were the boy's attackers. The door opened, and in a fleeting swish, the curtain flew open.

"What do you punks think you're doing on my bed?!"

The grainy voice of an old woman made the two stop. Realizing that he was wrong on his assumption, the redhead stopped trying to shove his hand over his mouth and turned his head. His confused face was met with a peeved angry woman, her hands on her hips, and her mouth curved to a foul scowl.

Law didn't even want to see what her expression really looked like as he knew full well who the woman was. His hands were still in the air holding onto the other boy's arms to prevent them from pushing against his neck. He swallowed before he forced himself to look at her.

"Dr. Kureha," he said slowly.

He knew that what she was seeing didn't look very appropriate. Law gave a quick glance at himself. His body was curled slightly as his legs were still wrapped around the redhead's waist, and the redhead having his shirt open and torn certainly didn't help matters. Law was about to open his mouth to explain that he was being attacked, but the other teen beat him to it.

"Old hag-"

The boy didn't realize his mistake as he his head was soon grabbed by the hair and flung out the bed. Law quickly sat up watching in slight fear as the boy crashed against the wall and bounced to the floor.

"What did you say?" she narrowed her eyes.

It was rhetorical as there was no way the boy could've responded. The redhead groaned most likely unconscious. A trickle of blood fell from his forehead, the color matching his untamed hair, as he laid on the floor like he was dead. Dr. Kureha clicked her tongue and turned to the other teen.

"Law,"

Said boy stiffened when he met the woman's gaze.

"I said I'd be back at the end of the period. I didn't permit you to take advantage of my absence to do the nasty. This is an infirmary for god's sake. Keep it sanitary!"

"What? No! He attacked me!"

Before Law could say anymore, the bell rang cutting him off. The school nurse didn't let him continue as she didn't care for his excuse nor did she want to hear it. She was fine as long as they didn't get her bed sheets dirty, and in her head, she caught them just in time. Her heels clacked as she walked over to pick up the fallen clipboard, and she looked at the names that had been filled while she was gone.

"I -"

"Did he sign in?" she asked stopping him.

"Yeah, he did," Law pursed his lips. "Doctor," he wanted to try again. "It's -"

"Enough," Dr. Kureha said sharply. The look she gave him said there was to be no argument. When the teen's face said that he had receded on trying, she nodded and set her eyes back on the paper. "You should get to class before you're late."

Law was still adamant on explaining himself that she misunderstood the whole thing, but he knew that the woman wouldn't listen. Quietly, he slid out of the bed and fixed himself. His uniform was slightly crumpled, but it thankfully didn't get any blood on it. His eyes darted to the unconscious redhead wondering what was going to happen to him, and the school nurse noticed.

"He'll be fine," she waved for him to leave. "Just go."

With a slight hesitance, Law nodded and made for the door, his gaze still lingering on the other boy.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Doctorine."

* * *

"Hey, Law!" Penguin and Shachi smiled as they took their seats beside him in history class. The bell had already rung, but the teacher still wasn't there to mark them late. "Did a bunch of guys come to the nurse's office when you were there?"

"Why do you ask?" Law was just taking out his notebook from his bag.

"Because we saw a huge fight outside," Penguin answered. "Not really huge, but some guys were chasing two other guys in the parking lot. We could see them from up in the P.E. field, and it got really messy."

"Yeah. Two guys were really beating people up. I think one guy threw someone in a dumpster," Shachi pitched in sounding amazed.

"Was one of them a red headed brute?" Law was still not in the best of moods.

Not only was he dismissed from being able to clarify his innocence, he was attacked twice in less than half an hour by the same guy. He hated that the redhead could overpower him so easily, and what did Dr. Kureha think of him? He didn't really care for her opinion that much, but he didn't want her to think that he did things to dirty the infirmary while she wasn't watching! Her trust that he had built from the start of the semester must've dissipated in those few minutes she had seen them.

His two friends noticed his sour attitude but didn't dare comment on it.

"Um, I'm not sure," the two looked at each other questioningly. "We couldn't really see that close. The police came to break the fight up, but by the time they came, the two who were being chased already disappeared."

The dark haired teen let out a low grumble. It didn't matter if the boy had been telling the truth; his pride was gone.

"Gang fights, I bet," Penguin hummed. "There were a lot of incidents in the West district recently, and I think it's coming to downtown towards our area."

"Ugh, I hope not," Shachi groaned. "I really don't get why those groups even exist still. They just cause trouble for everyone, and all they do is hurt people. I'd hate to think that we have some in our school."

The dark haired teen with the Eskimo hat nodded.

"You know, there was an incident in Addison…"

Penguin trailed. Law noticed the small silence that had followed, and felt two pairs of eyes staring at him. After shoving his pencil case back into his bag, he looked up to find his friends staring at him.

"What?"

Penguin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "You're dad," he said. "He's in the hospital, right."

_Because of the Addison incident._ Law knew that he omitted the last part for him.

"Are you going to visit him after school?"

Law stiffened. "Yeah…" he found himself looking down.

"We were wondering if we could come. I mean, if you want."

Law felt a small smile tug at the edge of his mouth.

"SORRY I'M LATE!" The door suddenly flew open making everyone jump. All conversation ceased as the students in the classroom straightened in their seats including the trio.

A huffing man that was their history teacher entered the room hopping on crutches. His missing leg had left him crippled from an accident, but he had refused to be in a wheelchair and insisted on walking everywhere. Because of this, his arms and remaining leg were very buff; his ripping muscles could be seen bulging from his suit attire. It was known that the man was often late for his afternoon class, but this time, sweat was dripping down his chin as if he'd been in a hurry.

"I had to take an emergency call from the office and it took a little longer than I wanted to," Mr. Kyros explained. "While I was coming back, the elevator had broken down so I had to take the stairs."

The long haired teacher made his way over to his desk and sat down. He took a moment to catch his breath and leaned his crutches against the chalkboard.

"I'm really sorry," he said again. He raised his hand and pointed towards the front of the classroom. "You guys can pass up your homework to the front now. The people sitting at the front row can come up and place them at my desk, then we can begin."

Everyone began taking out their homework and passing it up front. As Law took out his assignment, his eyes glanced up to meet Penguin's by chance. The blue orbs smiled at him, and Law smiled back thankfully.

"Damn it," Shachi cursed breaking their small moment. The two turned to the redhead who buried his face into his hands with a long moan. "I forgot to do it agaain."

* * *

"Woah-ho," Ace tried to stifle a laugh. "What happened to you?"

Kid narrowed his eyes telling him to shut up. The boy shrugged knowing that he didn't get that bump on his head from being jumped earlier. It was now after school, and hopefully the redhead didn't get ambushed again.

"I know I didn't see this when we split up," he stared at the big bump near his hairline. It was nearly the size of an egg and could pass for a tumor. "Did you run into a wall?"

"Does it matter?!" Kid growled.

He pulled out his goggles from his pockets and slipped it across his forehead to hide the damned bump. He wasn't about to tell the freckled teen that he had his platter handed to him by an old witch with inhuman strength just so he could be made fun of. The two continued walking down the hospital corridor as they searched for the correct room number in silence as Kid refused to talk. When they thought they came by the right one, Ace paused making them stop in front of the door.

"What?" Kid asked.

The wavy haired teen looked at him solemnly. "Thanks," he said, "for helping me today. I really appreciate you helping us get back at the people who attacked Haruta."

"I had my own problems with them too," he grumbled. "They tried to harass some of my guys before so I was already planning on getting back at them."

"No really," Ace insisted. He didn't like that Kid was trying to play it off as nothing when they were messing with a big gang. "Those guys were dangerous. I wouldn't have pressured you to agree if you had said no." His eyes went to Kid's left arm. "How's your shoulder by the way?"

"Hm? It's fine," the redhead looked at his wound. He was wearing his uniform blazer this time so no one could see the cut. He rotated his arm to get a general feel of its condition, and it still hurt a hell of a lot. "The school nurse stitched me up."

"The school nurse? Aren't they only allowed to give ice packs?"

Kid shrugged. "I woke up, and my cut was fixed. I was still in the infirmary, and she was there to yell at me for half an hour before I could go."

The woman refused to let him leave just because he dared call her old. Kid skipped over the fact that he actually had to run out of the office because he accidentally called her an ugly witch, but she wouldn't shut up. It just came out.

"Huh, I didn't know Dr. Kureha could do that."

At the name, the taller teen blanched. Ace let it go with a skeptical look as he didn't have much feelings for her either.

Taking a deep breath, the freckled boy erased his uneasiness and changed his demeanor entirely. He opened the door and popped his head in the room.

"Haruta!" he called out cheerily. "You miss me? I brought you chocolate!"

His face dropped when they didn't see a short brunette boy with a casted leg and broken arm laying down on a bed. Instead, there was a middle aged man who was looking back at them equally confused. The blonde man was sitting up in a hospital gown with a blanket over his legs, a book in tow in his hands. The expression on Ace's face deflated, and he tried to laugh it off.

"Sorry, I think we got the wrong room,"

The man switched his gaze from Ace to Kid.

"Is this room 189?"

"No, this is room 289. You guys are on the wrong floor," he tried to smile weakly.

"Oh, shit. We got off the wrong floor. Sorry."

"It's alright. I get lost here too. Every floor looks the same so I get confused as well."

"Ah… We didn't mean to bother a… rocker?" Ace was referring to the crown like mark under the man's right eye. It wasn't clear if it was make-up or a tattoo, but the man's lips were also a darker shade that could look like it was done with make-up. The color of his lips extended to an elongated smile, and it gave a faint illusion that he was happy even when he had on a neutral face.

"Ah!" the blonde waved his hands when he got it. "I'm not rocker! I don't play the guitar or anything!"

"Oh, haha. I thought I met someone famous for a second. Well, I guess we better go. Sorry again to have bothered you!"

The two teens hurried to leave the room. They walked down the hallway to the elevators so they can go down a floor. Once the doors opened, they walked in not noticing the three bouncing hats that left the elevator next to theirs.


	2. Windows

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I know that this hadn't been updated in such a long time, and I hope you do forgive me. Enjoy this second chapter, and leave a review! Thank you for all that had commented on the last chapter, and I hope you all continue to read this story.**

**P.S. Sorry if it came out too snarky. **

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Windows**

* * *

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to bother - um… a rocker?"

"What? No! I'm not a musician or anything!" Corazon tried to explain.

He was genuinely surprised that the boy would think that, and he tried his best to diffuse the mistake. Perhaps the make-up was a mistake? He heard the boy laugh – a happy laugh that resounded within the whole room and came from deep inside his chest.

After the boy apologized and left, Corazon felt a rising nervousness creep up behind him. The boy he had just seen may have been able to shrug off his new look, but that was because he didn't know him. He sighed, a heavy breath leaving him as he tentatively placed the tips of his fingers under his right eye. The soft, tainted flesh felt raw under his touch. If that strange boy had found him looking odd, then what would Law say?

The burn marks he had suffered didn't hurt as much as they did anymore, but they would leave a lasting scar. Thinking about how the marks would always be with him made him remember how they'd gotten there in the first place.

After he was attacked at the outburst in Addison, he had been knocked out by the butt of a gun. When he came to, he found himself lying on the floor with his hands tied behind his back. A dingy light dangled above him to illuminate the room, and his eyes immediately searched his surroundings to find three men sitting at a table.

He could not identify any of them as they all had hoods and a bandana covering the lower halves of their faces – just like the gang members in the streets. Corazon's mind clicked then and he knew he was in trouble. Their attire made them look like a cult more than anything, and the unison of movement when all three heads turned to look at him made him freeze. They knew he was awake.

One of the figures stood up, and the rest followed him to surround the cop. The one with the red bandana squatted beside Corazon's shoulder and caressed his cheek. With a sudden flick of his wrist, he lolled the blonde's head to the side.

"_How you doing there?" _The voice rang happily. The way it clashed against his ears, the voice still sounded underdeveloped, and it did not yet have the same deepness of a man who was fully grown. Corazon could still pick out the higher pitch of a developing teen – this person was still a boy.

Corazon stayed quiet biting his tongue. He knew he needed to figure out what was happening and what they were planning before he could act. Cautiously, he stared in silence as the group of strangers peered down at him. One them who was standing kicked Corazon's side apparently not liking the calculating look in his eyes.

"_Hn!" _He flinched biting into the gag they had pulled against his mouth. The foot had hit one of the bruises still sore at his ribs.

"_I don't like this guy,"_ the one who kicked them stated bluntly. _"Why'd you bring him_ _here, bro?" _

"_Because of this," _red bandana said, a smile curling the edges of his lips underneath his mask. He motioned to the other man who hadn't said anything and told him to go to the fireplace at the other end of the room. _"Bro." _

It was one word, but the man knew the command. The one with the blue bandana walked over to retrieve a metal rod that had been heating up in the midst of the fire. Corazon's eyes widened as the man came back, the heated metal glowing a mad red at the tip in his hands. A crown like mark shaped the glowing end, and his eyes followed it as the metal was passed to the teen with the red bandana.

As if trying to get a comfortable feel at the handle, the boy gripped it and looked back down to Corazon. Brown eyes twinkled in suspense.

"_Old man. Did you know? Some people brand themselves instead of getting tattoos. You get similar results, but ink tends to fade, you know? And you can always remove a tat once you figure out that you don't like it. But a burn mark – that shit, you can't erase. It stays with you as a scar." _

The hooded stranger held the glowing metal close to Corazon's face, the tip a hair line's distance away as the heat radiated against his cheek.

"_And the smell. The god damn smell stinks like rubber. Shit," _the guy laughed. _"You ever experienced that?" _

The metal rod hovered upwards Corazon's face until it was right under his eye.

"_You know, simple threats just don't work on you cops. You think you guys can do anything just because you're the authority. Guess we just need another way to, how you say, revise the way we convey our message. So listen to this._

"_Stop fucking messing with us." _

The metal came down kissing his flesh, the intense heat making Corazon scream.

It was like he could still feel it. Corazon let his fingers trail down to the marks at the corner of his mouth.

He could still hear himself tearing out his vocal cords and trying hard to restrain his body from jerking in fear of moving the heated rod towards his eye. It took immense will to keep from moving and to not balk at the smell of searing skin.

"_Scream, bitch. I like it."_

Corazon lost himself in the memory that he almost jumped when he heard a knocking. He lifted his eyes from the part of the blanket that he was staring at, and he caught a glimpse of himself at the reflection of the window glass. Black painted at the places where he had been burned, and he couldn't help but think that they looked absolutely ridiculous.

How could he possibly think he could get away with this? No way was this look normal.

"Mr. Donquixote,"

He turned from the window and tore his gaze towards the nurse who had come in to his room. He guessed he looked distraught as she smiled at him, a warmth filling her expression. Her long brown hair moved as she tilted her head to the side.

"There are people here to see you," she said. The pity in her big brown eyes became more transparent the longer he looked at her. "Your son and a few of his friends are with him."

The hand which was glossing his marred skin now clutched to the blanket covering his lap.

"No," he said.

The moment the word came out, he knew he was being selfish. This wasn't the right thing to do. If there was anyone that could have the privilege of seeing him, it was Law. As his son, it was his right to. But some part of him didn't want the boy to see him like this.

There were still spots coloring his neck where he was chocked and blotches of discoloration running down his arms and the rest of his body. He looked battered and swollen, and he wouldn't be able to handle how Law would look at him. What would the kid see? What would he think?

Corazon knew that Law was already against his return at the job, and one look at his sad state would only convince him that his argument was right. And if Law asked – if he _asked _– Corazon ran his hand against his mouth. If Law asked him to leave his job, he would.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Donquixote?" the nurse asked sensing his reluctance.

He looked at her feeling horrible.

"I don't want to see anyone right now. Can you please tell them that I'm unwell?"

"Of course," she nodded after giving him a sympathetic look. "I will tell them that you are unable to accept visitors at this time. But are you sure you are feeling well? Do you need anything?"

He shook his head.

"I'm fine. Just please tell them I'm sorry."

The woman gave a small noise of agreement and went off to ward Law and his friends away, but with the promise of returning and checking on his temperature and heart rate. She thought that something might have been wrong with the drugs they were giving him, but she was completely off. He just wasn't ready yet. Corazon heard the door close, and he slumped into his hand, fingers squeezing the bridge of his nose.

He had to show Law his burn marks sooner or later. Putting it off wasn't going to help, but he didn't regret trying to delay it as much as possible and opting for the latter.

Corazon took a heavy breath, hands rubbing against his face. He took another glance at the window pane, his reflection staring back at him. His makeup had completely smudged like charcoal, streaks lining down his cheeks following his fingertips. The hideous color of burnt flesh showed under the destroyed mask of black, and it hurt. Not just looking at it, but the burns weren't even healed yet. The doctor would certainly scold him later for messing with the healing process.

But he didn't need the scolding. He already knew he wasn't supposed to be doing anything with the wounds because everything was still itching and bothering him. He was just in pain everywhere.

Cerulean eyes stared at him with contempt – or perhaps it was anger?

He didn't want to keep looking at the image, but he couldn't pull his gaze away. There was something in that hollowness, in that fear, in his own eyes that felt too real and overwhelming at the same time.

* * *

Law was standing at the helper's desk with Shachi and Penguin. They had asked if they could see his father, but for some reason, the woman at the desk made them wait. He didn't know why they would stop him and he had made sure that it was visiting hours.

It wasn't long until the nurse that was sent away came back. She was pretty with her pale, milky skin, but the small knit to her brows ruined her charms slightly. She looked to Law with a wan smile.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Your father isn't able to take visitors right now."

"What?" he tensed immediately assuming the worst. His friends behind him straightened up with him. "What do you mean? Did something happen?"

"No, Mr. Donquixote is fine. He just requests that no one visits him at this time."

Law was at a loss. If his father was okay, then why didn't he want to see him? He couldn't shake off the building apprehension as he was left wondering.

"Please," he tried. "I just want to see him."

"I'm sorry, but we can't let you do that."

"Can you at least tell us why he's decided to refuse visitors?" Penguin piped up trying to help.

The nurse sighed. "He says that he is feeling unwell, and we'll be checking to make sure that nothing is wrong. Your father may just be tired. From what he's been through, it's not a surprise."

A hand patted Law's shoulder giving a comforting squeeze. He knew what had happened to Corazon; that was the only reason he didn't argue with the nurse and understood the amount of recovery that was needed for his father. One of the men his father was working with, Coby, had stopped by at his house the night of the incident to report that his father had gone missing. He nearly lost it then, but the news of Corazon's state when he was found almost obliterated him in comparison.

Coby tried to be by his side the whole time. Throughout the whole investigation of trying to find Corazon, he tried to give Law support, but sometimes, he could tell that it also went the other way.

His father had been in the force for a long time, Law understood that. Corazon may have taken a break when Law came into the picture, but Law was used to the blonde coming home with injuries as the man had returned to his job three years ago. Three years was enough time to accumulate multiple wounds – grazes, bruises, and knife wounds, but nothing like this. Corazon getting hurt wasn't new, but to this extent – it took three days to find him. Three days that allowed Law's worry to sky rocket and make him go crazy.

He hadn't seen his father when they found him in an abandoned building in the next city over, but he had visited when he was still unconscious in the hospital. His fists curled from the memory of seeing the purple skin and the bandaged wound on Corazon's thigh which had been infected. The worst of all, though, were the marks on his father's face. The three pointed marks under his right eye and the lines that stretched from his lips – his blood boiled at seeing how anyone could deform someone's face like that.

He was glad to see that his father was unconscious at that time so he wouldn't have to feel all the pain. Just trying to grasp what he went through when he was missing – he couldn't.

Law had refused to leave Corazon's side that day until the nurses came and told him that he needed to leave. It was unhealthy for a person to be staying so long with another in complete apprehension, even if it was with their loved one. It would do the patient nor the family member any good, and Coby had reminded him that he still had school. In the officer's words, he said that Corazon would not forgive him if he let his son worry himself to death. So by Coby's persistence, Law had grudgingly left his father's side, but promising that it would only be for a moment. That had been two days ago, and he was hanging on to the edge of his seat waiting for Corazon to wake up. When Coby called again this morning informing him of his father's progress, Law had been anxious to get to the hospital and see his father awake – blue eyes blinking and alive. But now that he was here, he didn't understand why the man would want to drive him away.

"Did you tell him that it was me?" he looked to the nurse hoping she would ask again, but he still received the same answer.

"I have told him. He is fully aware that you were the one visiting. I'm really sorry, but you just have to come back another time."

The woman gave him one last look before taking off. She was done trying to reason with him and expected him to leave as she went on to resume her daily tasks around the hospital.

The hand on Law's shoulder squeezed tighter, but he remained where he was standing. He refused to let the rejection sink in.

"It's alright, Law," Penguin whispered. "We'll just come back tomorrow when your dad is feeling better."

Gently, another hand rested on his opposite arm of where the blue eyed boy was holding. Shachi didn't need to say a word as he tugged on Law's arm.

A slow breath staggered out of his chest, and Law turned around himself to head towards the exit. His two friends were fast enough to move with him and matched his stride as they left the office, Penguin's arm slung around his shoulders to keep him grounded and calm.

No one said anything as they made it outside to Shachi's car in the parking lot. Law got in the back seat silently seething.

The next day better have something good for him.

* * *

The next day, Law was at school and he stood leaning by the cabinets with his arms crossed. The downwards curl to his lips came naturally as he rose a brow to the familiar sight.

"What? Am I supposed to expect another person to come barging in here again?"

He was annoyingly retorted with a snort.

It wasn't as if he had a reason to be happy to see the redhead again. He had no obligation to greet anyone with a smile, and he was definitely not going to start with someone who had humiliated him in front of Doctrine. Usually, this was Law's downtime and chance to get away from everyone, but the boy had disrupted his peaceful get away by coming again to the infirmary. Now, the boy named Eustass Kid was sitting on the same bed he had used the last time he came. Law eyed the redhead up and down not missing the reopened cut on his lip and scratches on his cheek.

"Law," Dr. Kureha called his name to move and not just stand there.

She was doing some paperwork at the front desk and was too busy to take care of guests. She gave the two a wary eye, and Law scoffed as he turned around. He searched the cabinets for disinfectants and some swabs which he gathered and brought over to the bed. Grabbing the seat close by, Law sat down when he was suddenly pulled by the wrist. Instinctively, he reached out with his other arm to break his fall. His hand landed on the other boy's leg, and he quickly flung his head upwardly to glare at the big headed delinquent. Their faces were only centimeters apart, their nose almost touching and eyes immediately locking.

"What? Not going to scream like a girl this time?"

Kid smirked at him. Law squeezed the boy's leg making him flinch as he touched a bruise.

"Mhm-!" The boy cringed.

Law pulled his arm back trying his best to act as professionally as he could in front of Dr. Kureha and sat down. He soaked the swab with alcohol and quickly started cleaning the cut on Kid's cheek before the boy could straighten up. The sting of the alcohol made him flinch.

"Argh! That hurts!" the redhead hissed swatting Law's hand away.

The dark haired teen ignored him and dabbed again. "Now, who's screaming like a little girl? Hold still."

"I would if you'd warn me next time."

"Next time? You're going to make this a routine?"

"Hey, don't start clinging to me already, sweetheart. You're expecting too much if you expect me to visit you all the time. We just met. But if you like that, I guess I like them demanding."

Law paused on his dabbing to give the boy a look. _Sweetheart? _Did the boy just give him a disgusting pet name? Law almost felt the bile rising from his throat. He set down the swab and grabbed a cloth which he half smacked the boy with on the cheek.

"Next time I see you, I'll make sure to lock the door."

He played the smack as a forceful rub to clean the wound.

"Don't be such a prissy bitch – Ow!"

Law nicked him with the bone of his finger earning him a glare. Once he finished, he cleaned the cut on his lip as well and rubbed ointment on it. Kid stayed quiet as he took care of his lips, but he could feel the boy watching him as he did so. Once he was done, Law promptly stood up to throw away the dirty equipment he used in the trashcan. The golden red eyes didn't stray from him, and Law turned to meet the gaze. Kid smirked leaning back on the bed when their eyes met.

"I might have cuts again on other parts of my body. Are you going to tell me to take my shirt off?" He cocked his head the side. His shirt was already half way open so when he shifted back, the collar shifted to reveal his upper chest.

Law threw the dirty mess in the bin. "Do it yourself if you need to."

He was sure the boy didn't have any more injuries. He didn't know why Kid was playing with him, but he could tell that his shirt was completely white. There were no red stains anywhere, and even his shoulder where he had the gash seemed fine. Law walked over to the front desk to retrieve the clipboard with the sign-in sheets and shoved it towards the redhead.

"You know what to do."

He would not give any more words other than commands.

"You know," Kid said as he took the clipboard, "you ain't really a nice nurse to be around. Usually, they try to make patients feel better by being all nice and stuff."

"And _stuff_?" he repeated icily. "What _exactly _do you want me to do, Eustass?"

He really hoped the boy knew better than to answer, but he had little expectations. Did the man take him as his damn maid? What did nurses do other than take care of injuries? And he already attended to all of them. And secondly, he wasn't even a damn nurse. The term 'assistant' would be more accurate, but he had already tried to clarify that to the redhead earlier and apparently failed to make himself understood.

Kid scribbled his name shrugging and handed the papers back to him.

"I wouldn't mind a lap dance or a lollipop."

"You're disgusting." Law snatched the clipboard away before he was really finished. Anything to make the redhead leave faster.

"Hey, don't get too carried away with the dirty talk or I might just believe it."

Kid just _had_ to add in and Law groaned rolling his eyes. Dr. Kureha actually looked up from her paperwork to make a face, one side of her lip twisting clearly disturbed.

"Don't just sit there bothering my helper, brat," she beamed at Kid. "If you're fine, then get out of my office and go back to class."

She was getting sick of the weird display of flirting. Kid clenched his jaw wanting to retort back, but something held him back. Instead, he did as he was told and hopped off the bed, hands slipping into his pockets. A small hint of fear flickered in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a noncommittal look of boredom as soon as it came. He kicked the floor for a little bit and Law ignored him opting to busy his hands with organizing the medical equipment in the cabinets. Nothing really needed to be ordered and he was only pretending to be busy. He reached over to a hydrogen peroxide bottle when he felt Kid come up behind him.

"I need someone to walk me back to class."

He didn't even stop to act like he was listening.

"Did your head get banged up too hard that you forgot your way back," he stated more than asked.

Whatever Kid wanted, he didn't want to be part of it. He continued like before, but the presence of the other teen never left. After a few moments, a pale arm reached over and grabbed the bottle and lifted it from his hands.

"I need proof that I was here and wasn't ditching class. I don't want the teacher thinking I was skipping again."

"Well, that's your problem, now isn't it?"

"Come on. Do a guy a favor, will ya?"

Law suddenly turned around irked. Just the sound of the redhead's voice made it seem like he was supposed to owe him something when really, it should be the other way around. He looked up at the redhead, his eyes sharp. Kid may have been a few inches taller, but they were almost leveled and he wasn't intimidated in the least.

"I've patched you up twice. Based on what I've done, it's you that should owe me. So do a favor for a guy will you," he mimicked in spite, "and leave me alone."

Kid stared at him for a second, his expression blank when Law snatched back the bottle of antiseptic. He made sure to elbow him a little when he turned back around to return to the cabinet and restock the second shelf.

"Ouch," Kid said in feint hurt. He stepped back a little from the jab, but from his muscular built, he wasn't really hurt at all. "You really know how to turn down a guy."

"Only those that can't get a hint."

"I was just playing. Don't take it so seriously."

"Hey!" Dr. Kureha growled from her desk. "Didn't I say to break it up? Or do you want me to send your ass back to class myself?" She focused on Kid, and the boy backed off just slightly.

He gave an uncomfortable shift in his stance. Something about the Doctrine made the redheaded teen feel slightly intimidated. Kid's jaw tightened once more like it kept doing whenever he faced the old woman, and Law paused glancing over his shoulder just to see how he'd handle Dr. Kureha. Part of him was hoping she'd kick his ass.

"I still need someone to escort me back," Kid pushed. "Shanks is all over my shit and won't believe if I come back with just a note."

"And I wonder why," Doctrine said dryly. In her lack of surprise, she gave an aggravated glance at Law. "Go walk him back."

Law opened his mouth in protest, but she quickly cut him off with the gesture of her hand.

"And I want my assistant back in five minutes, got it?" She was talking to Kid, but she effectively quieted the both of them, her decision final.

Kid gave a slanted smirk as if he was trying his best to grate on her nerves. "What if I keep him for six?"

* * *

He was sure that old hag had it in for him ever since they met.

The old hag scuffed him on the back of his neck and threw him out of her office. It wasn't like he was asking for anything big, just that someone take him back to his homeroom. He had basically stumbled into the hallway when he asked. The only thing that made it less humiliating was that the nurse boy was kicked out in the same fashion.

The boy followed him into the hallway, Dr. Kureha also throwing him out and shutting the door. Law – that's what the hag kept calling him – gave an incredulous glance at the shut door, and Kid almost smiled to himself. Things were always better when people suffered with you.

The dark haired teen jerked his head, eyes narrowed into deadly daggers directed at him. Even Kid knew when not to say anything then, though he had to admit those smoldering grey eyes were kind of hot, and began walking without a word.

Heading back to class, he thought that Law wasn't following him until the boy came by his side.

"Where's your class?" The teen was short with his question, and his tone as icy as ever.

"Room 218," he answered casually.

The boy gave a huff and walked faster taking the lead. Kid let him, the boy walking a good five feet ahead, and it wasn't so bad. His eyes trailed down to Law's ass, and he smiled. The teen's eyes weren't the only things that were smoking.

The two continued walking in silence, Kid bringing his hands behind his head in a relaxed fashion. He was pretty content with the looks of the other teen, but he actually wasn't after him. This was just one of Shanks' way of making sure he got his truant ass to class. If there wasn't someone to escort him back, the man wasn't wrong when he assumed that he'd stray and not come back. The grass out in the school garden seemed so much more appealing than sitting in a crowded room filled with mindless talk. And wasn't it a saying that people had to stop and smell the roses? Kid just wanted to smell freedom.

Unfortunately for him, Shanks had different opinions on the matter.

Kid was pretty surprised when he told Killer about Shanks' conditions. The blonde thought it was a good thing for someone to be with him and watching him during his walk back as it was dangerous for any one of them to be alone. There had been multiple ambush attacks that singled out members of Ace's and his crew whenever they were wandering by themselves in the streets or at school, and the attacks had increasingly become more common. Still, Kid firmly believed that he didn't need any babysitting during the walk back from the nurse's office since it was so short, but after explaining to him, Killer had a point. Even though he had been doing well in protecting himself whenever he was alone, the fact wasn't the same for Haruta, one of Ace's friends who they were tied to, and Wire who was also in the hospital. Killer was just being careful, and he wanted someone to be by Kid's side in case anything happened.

The guys couldn't always be there to have his back, the blonde argued. Kid could accept that counter. Everybody had different schedules, and it was irritating to organize everyone. He was expecting for his friends to recommend a security guard but for some reason, they thought it was a good idea for the nurse's assistant to walk him. Why, he had no idea. The dark haired teen didn't even look like a fighter. Kid bet he could pin him down in ten seconds.

He let his eyes wander at Law's backside a little longer.

_Eh_, he shrugged. It was a nice view. There were very few things he could appreciate, and Killer did have a point.

If someone called him cowardly, he'd break their nose flat. He was just being cautious. Things weren't so good with the tension between Ace's crew and the Birds.

The Birds – that's what he nicknamed the other group inside their school that liked to create trouble against their original crew in the District. After a while of calling them that, the name sort of just stuck, and everyone else began addressing them as such.

It had always been the Whitebeards that ruled this area, and Kid and his circle had been cool with them. He wasn't into creating fights with such a big gang, and he was close friends with Ace who was one of the higher ups within the crew. It was a nice set up. Kid and his friends minded their own business and they could enter parts of the city without stirring any disputes. In return, he helped the Whitebeards every now and then when they needed muscle.

True, he kind of liked beating the shit out of people just for the hell of it. In truth, it was kind of a stress reliever from all the shit that went on his life, but it was a give-give relationship they had, and the order was stable. That is, until those Birds came flying into their territory. It was just recent that those pests came. They were new guys from the next city over who migrated to their parts – new meat trying to claim their district and started throwing their weight around like the gangs that already existed within the city would hand their control over on a silver platter. Who did they think they were? Those conniving bastards.

No one even heard of them before, and they come tossing demands with their stuck up attitudes. As soon as they came, they immediately came up to rival crews demanding their cooperation and threatened them if they refused. One of the Bird's members actually came up to Killer once when Kid wasn't there. The rest of his friends were hanging out at the bridge near the river so the blonde was alone. They asked him if he wanted to join their shitty gang and actually called his best friend trash. Killer beat the shit out of the guy of course, but when Kid found out about it, he was furious.

They tracked the messenger a few days later and found him hanging out at the park with a bunch of other guys. They beat the shit out of the guy again and his friends too. Kid had dibs on the messenger though just because he personally wanted his fist to break the guy's jaw.

That fight got Kid's circle some attention from those avian dicks, and Kid was surprised to find that some of the invading group's members were also newly enrolled into their school. Immediately, he knew that they were going to get into a real sticky dilemma. Some people from the school were quickly recruited into the new gang, and he wasn't surprised. The Birds were recruiting after all, but that's all they were – just a new group that was all mass, exactly like a flock of birds who were crowding to intimidate by numbers.

There were many gangs who hated the Whitebeards, and it was predictable that the smaller fish would try to congregate around a bigger fish to try and take down the leading crew. It wasn't long until the lesser groups around the city who were opposed to the Whitebeards became subgroups of the Birds, and the new gang became huge. Threateningly massive, even.

The Whitebeards and their few remaining allies weren't small, perhaps half of the city still remained loyal. But knowing that the other half of the city was an enemy – seeing anyone with a bandana around their faces would send anyone up on their toes if they were still a part of the Whitebeard crew.

Kid personally thought the bandanas were kind of cool, but he preferred to show his face. Hiding behind a piece of cloth was cowardly in his opinion, and it maddened him when he didn't know the identities of the people who would sometimes try to attack him or any of his friends. Not even Killer would be able to go and chase down the pricks who would ambush them in the middle of the night because they wouldn't know who to go after. If there was no face, there was no trace. If there was no trace, there was no satisfactory pay back.

While the problem of bandanas only applied to the streets as it violated the dress code at school, it was a bigger headache to try and pick out who belonged to what group when there was no obvious sign to indicate people's loyalty. Kid could get jumped any time while walking the halls alone, and he wouldn't even expect it.

Heck, the last time he was walking alone, he brushed it off when he noticed that a girl was following him. She didn't look threatening. She had medium black hair, nerdy bangs, and was short. She looked like one of the model students, the ones who liked to stay late in the library studying or something, and he thought she was one of the normal ones so he didn't give her much thought. But boy, was he wrong.

When he got to the bottom of the stairs near the music building, the crazy chick suddenly went and clawed at his back with a knife. He dodged, but just barely. He didn't even notice when she had flung out the weapon! The girl tried multiple times to hang on to him, and he had to flip her to the floor to keep her from hopping everywhere. It was easy to overpower her once he had her on the ground, and he got rid of the knife easily. He threw it out the window, then knocked the girl unconscious.

Not knowing what to do, he sort of just left her there in the hall. He didn't bother to hide her as no one saw what had happened, and he resumed to his original destination – the restroom.

Kid couldn't even go take a damn piss without getting hassled. That's how bad it was. So his precaution of having someone walk with him back to his homeroom was not excessive or just an irrational fear. Anyone could be a damn Bird.

Kid looked at the reflection of the window as they passed by one in the hall. He looked at his own, his bruised face looking back at him, then at the figure of the person walking in front of him.

Law didn't notice he was staring at him as he made it look like he was staring at the buildings lining the city outside. Considerations of Law being one of the Birds played in his head, but for some reason, he thought it was unlikely. Someone as tight in their backside as him couldn't be part of shady scuffles. The dark haired teen probably knew nothing of the things that went on in alleys and late in the night far from normal life.

Law seemed normal, and he didn't give off that unprincipled vibe. He gave the impression of a hard working student – someone who had goals of going into college or something. At least, that's what Kid got.

He would have preferred if one of his friends like Wire was accompanying him, but he thought about it. The Birds wouldn't attack someone who wasn't part of the war when it would draw attention to them. They didn't need any more bad rep when they were still new. If they created too much trouble, then they would lose support of the more independent groups that they've been able to amass. Attacking someone who wasn't involved would create more problems than wanted. The attack would get reported and tighter security would befall the whole school. No one would be able to make any moves then.

Even if it was just the nurse's assistant, Kid was safer with him than any of his crew. If it was Killer or anyone else he knew, the other gang wouldn't hesitate for a free chance of shanking a shiv into their guts. But it would really be a damn shame if nurse boy was an avian puppet.

The pair of legs in front of him suddenly stopped, and Kid almost bumped into Law, his mind elsewhere.

"What?" he finally tore away from the mirror to look ahead.

The dark haired boy turned around on his heels giving him a dead look of 'are you stupid?'

"This is your classroom," Law said flatly.

Kid looked to the side and noticed that they were indeed in front of a door with the number "218" engraved in bold letters just below the frame. His redheaded homeroom teacher could be seen through the slim glass window of the door, and Shanks seemed to have already started today's agenda of leaning back into his chair and letting his students do whatever they wanted with their free time. Blinking, he barely realized that he had been daydreaming the whole trip here.

"Well?" Law spoke, his arms crossing across his chest, when Kid continued to stand there. "Aren't you going in?"

"Nah," he drawled. "Not yet. Gotta keep you for at least six minutes remember?"

"Believe me when I say that it's been way past that, at least in my point of view."

"Don't you get tired of being holed up in the nurse's office all day?" Kid asked.

"I prefer to have my peace and quiet," Law remarked. "Not that you know of that."

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?"

He purposefully gave off an irritating smile. Law rolled his smoldering grey eyes – could the guy act any sexier? Kid just loved the snappy attitude – and made off to leave. Kid followed Law as he brushed by, his eyes meaning to catch a last glimpse of the teen's fine ass, when he caught something at the reflection on the window. His eyes quickly jumped to the glass panes which captured an image of the hallway, and Kid spotted a yellow haired kid waiting at the top of the stairs. The kid was acting suspicious as he crouched down to hide behind a wall, his gaze strictly focused on him and Law.

Shit. This is what he got for spacing out. He didn't even notice anyone trailing them.

Kid quickly reached out taking a hold of Law's wrist and pulled him back.

He couldn't recognize the blonde and he didn't trust for the teen to walk back alone. A silver object came glinting into view against the reflection as the blonde took out a knife, and he furrowed his brows. If he had already brandished out his weapon, then it wasn't Kid that he was after since Law would be passing by him very soon. Kid could tell from the way the boy was holding his weapon with two fingers that it was a push knife – a blade that was easily concealed due to its small size. Such a thing couldn't really kill a person, but it could still cause some serious damage. Typical – the Birds preferred to use something like that as they preferred to hurt, rather than kill, to lower moral and psyche people out.

"What the hell?!" Law growled clearly annoyed.

He tightened his grip on the wrist and turned to the dark haired teen.

"I asked if you wanna bet on that."

Law only gave him a strained bemused look before Kid pulled him towards the other end of the hallway.

"What are you doing?! You're supposed to go back to class!"

"It's alright! Shanks will think that I'm still at the nurse's office!"

"You're clearly not, and that is not an excuse!"

"_You're_ my excuse."

Kid continued to drag the unwilling teen who continued to wiggle out of his grasp. It wasn't until they were down the stairs and alone that he stopped and pushed Law to the wall. Law let out a disgruntled sound of surprise as Kid pressed up against him and pinned both his arms above his head, the redhead's voice falling into a deadly whisper. Eyes turning wide, Law was about to speak in protest when Kid cut him off.

"Shut up and don't talk. Someone's following us."

That effectively causes the other boy's mouth to close, but it doesn't erase his look of contempt. _How cute, _Kid thinks to himself as the boy looked at him confused. He had probably been taken aback, unknowing how they had a stalker. Kid's jaw tighten still angry over the yellow haired punk and how he could have sneaked up on them, but he calms a little liking the position they were in – him towering over the other teen – but he doesn't let it distract him, and he keeps his senses alert.

"If you go back to the nurse's office now, then there's a guy out there waiting to get a good stab at you."

"What?" The boy failed to take his order on keeping quiet.

"I saw a guy waiting by the stairs with a knife waiting for you to pass by."

"That was probably meant for you," Law hissed. The boy doesn't hide how indifferent he is to the situation. Or more accurately, how he doesn't care how someone wanted to stick a blade into the redhead.

Kid doesn't deny that maybe the attempt was for him. There were so many people that wanted to kill him, but he clearly saw the blonde eyeing Law.

"No. He was aiming for _you_."

"He has no reason to hurt me."

"Hardly anyone has a reason to hurt anybody, but they still do," he growled. Kid thought about the many times he picked fights with random guys just to get the feel of something breaking under his knuckles, and how that reasoning was so invalid. "If you saw him with a knife, it doesn't matter! The guy would've attacked you so he could run away and not get caught!"

Kid knew he'd do the same, and he had - twice this semester - as he carried around a weapon himself. The switchblade knife felt heavy in his pockets, a constant reminder of its existence and why it was there.

A crinkle folded Law's nose and he tried to push Kid back, but Kid put all of his weight into keeping him down. He pushed his knee in between Law's legs to increase his advantage over him and solidified his grip harder.

"If you don't want a knife sticking out of you, just shut your trap and follow me!"

"No," Law said refusing to listen. "You just want to skip class, and I need to get back to Dr. Kureha, asshole!"

The boy kept trying to get free, and he could see him grit his teeth.

"Damn, you're stubborn!" Kid frowned at the challenging glare he was shot.

"Don't order me around."

It was just four words, but maybe because of the way they were said that they made Kid give a feral grin. He looked at Law meeting those defiant eyes head on, a twinkle shinning in his own. When a person tells him not to do something, that just makes him want to do what he's been told _not _to do. Now, all he wanted to do was order Law around and give him so much commands – commands that were going to be fulfilled.

Kid shifted to give one of his hands control over both Law's wrists where he kept them pasted against the wall. Leaning closer, the teen narrowed his eyes warily as the redhead let his now free hand travel down to the boy's side.

"Oh yeah?" Kid whispered to Law's ear. "You don't like me ordering you around?" he teased.

His breath tickled the hairs on the boy's neck as they were that close. A smile pulled his lips when he felt the dark haired boy stiffen the moment his fingers dug into his back pockets. Kid quickly pulled back and jumped a few paces when he felt Law move and try to kick his nuts. Damn, the guy fights dirty!

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Law shouted, his face turning red. His hands curled into fists, and Kid couldn't help but grin.

He held up the boy's phone flashing it like a trophy. Two words sashayed out of his lips in command.

"Follow me."


End file.
